Jodi in China

November 24, 2008

When Jamon left in Shangri-la in the beginning of October, I was on my own. That turned out to be a good thing, because I had to learn how to get things done by myself. Thankfully, I've managed to do that, and I have been busy, productive, and happy. In addition, I’ve been fortunate to make a lot of great friends, mostly expats from all over the world who have found themselves living in Shangri-la. Swiss, Australians, Americans, and British; researchers, artists, and people just trying to get by how they can, by setting up a business or teaching english in the local schools. They are mostly all older than me, and quite experienced in China. They have great stories, tons of insight on the way things work here. And they all seem to have a healthy cynicism about China and the world in general, with a good sense of humor to go along with it, which is a perspective I greatly enjoy and appreciate.

So, throughout October and November, I have been based in Shangri-la, but making overnight and day trips all over NW Yunnan.  Sometime around the beginning of November, I started to get kind of tired, and things started to get a bit blurry. But I was able to do a few more productive but relatively easy fieldtrips in November to help me through it, and I ended up having lot of fun. Now I have just gotten back to Kunming, to do some meetings and take care of some business before returning to the U.S. at the end of this week. I've been going through my pictures to post in my final blog entry and I am amazed at how many stunningly beautiful places I’ve visited these last couple of months. And what good company I’ve had. All of the Chinese and the westerners I’ve spent time with all along the way have been wonderfully kind and most always easy-going. But I’m not going to get mushy about it -- I’ll just show some of my favorite photos from the last couple of months and be done with it. See you all soon!!

10/24/2008

Parental Advisory: The content of this blog entry may not be appropriate for young children.

So…..going back in time, to our return from the Tibetan herder hut. We rolled into Shangri-la on the public bus in late afternoon, and found a nice hostel. After a week-plus of no showers, no bathrooms, and a hut full of men, smoke, and dirt, we were ready for some R&R. I had the best shower ever, and was looking forward to a meal that didn’t include yak dairy products or fried pork fat. After that, we planned to have a good sleep in a clean room with real beds. So, squeaky clean and in fresh clothes, we wandered to a local restaurant for a Yak hotpot.

Hotpot is a specialty here, and how it works is that a big pot of boiling broth is set on a propane burner in the middle of your table. You are given all kinds of yummy ingredients to dump in, like yak meat, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, spinach, tofu, and who knows what else. The hot pot boils it all, while we fish out pieces of yummy goodness with our chopsticks, dip the morsels in a little dish of spicy sauce, and eat it all up. Accompanied by a cold beer, there is nothing like a good hotpot.

About halfway through the hotpot, Michelle’s phone rings. She chatters away in Mandarin while I continue shoveling the food in. She gets off the phone and I can tell she is excited.

Michelle: That was Dr. Yang from the botanical garden. It turns out that Mr. Wong, from **name your favorite international conservation organization here** is in town! Dr. Yang is hosting him, they are at karaoke, and he invited us to come meet him!

As I’ve explained a little bit before, there is a certain way of doing business in China. To get anywhere here, you have to form relationships with the folks you want to do business with. To form relationships, you have to interact socially, in a very specific way. This way, as I have explained before, involves big banquets, formal toasting, and obligatory drinking. And if you are really serious about getting work done, you throw in some karaoke. A sinking feeling set into my happy hotpot mood as I saw the excitement in Michelle’s eyes. I sensed that my dream of a quiet evening of peace and quiet was in peril.

But I was determined to hold on to my dream. For the first time this whole trip, I heard myself whine. “Michelle. I don’t wanna go.”

Michelle responded to my whining with a motherly attitude. “Jodi, this is a really good opportunity for you. Mr. Wong is the director of the **international conservation organization** for all of Yunnan Province! They have money, and connections, and access to nature reserves.”

Yes, these are all things that I currently do not have, but that I certainly will need if I want to do PhD research in China. But I was going to hold strong. I whined, “Michelle, please don’t make me go.”

She looked at me, and said, “They also have lots and lots of maps!”

Boy, does she know my weak spot. I give in, “Ok, ok, I’ll go.” But I don’t want to be such a pushover, so I say, “But we don’t have to stay too long, do we?”. She ignores this question and instead pays the bill for our half-eaten dinner. She says, “Let’s go! The car is already on its way to pick us up!”

Sure enough, A car is already waiting outside of the restaurant for us. We climb in and Michelle chats with the driver, who is a friend of hers from her time of volunteering at the botanical garden. We drive across town and get out in front of a big building with flashing neon lights – KTV! KTV! KTV! – which is what karaoke places in China are called. There are people milling around outside, and it is packed inside. Michelle’s driver friend leads us into the KTV! place, up some stairs, through a maze of people and lights and noise, and finally into a doorway of a private room. As we enter the room, there seems to be a crowd of women that we are pushing through. We are led to the far end of the long, narrow, dark room, and sit on cushioned benches along one side of the room. There is a big TV with karaoke lyrics on the other side of the room, and a karaoke song selection screen at the end of the room. There are tables with snacks and drinks in front of us, but before I have time to soak anything else in, Dr. Yang from the botanical gardens is introducing me to the honored guest, Mr. Wong from the **international conservation organization**.

Mr. Wong is super friendly, and speaks very good English. He tells me how he has heard that I study forests and birds, and offers up the suggestion that we collaborate. He says, “we have access to all of the nature reserves. If we collaborate, you could have access to the nature reserves too! And it would be great for us, because it would help us develop ecotourism in these areas!” Wow, I thought, Michelle was right, this was awesome! I started to relax a little bit, and chat with Mr. Wong about some of my research ideas.

Our chatting doesn’t last too long, because all of the sudden the karaoke rises from mid-level loud to extremely loud. I look over at Michelle next to me, and she, microphone in hand, is belting out a classic Chinese love song. Her voice is beautiful, her Chinese flawless, and she is really putting some soul into it. I am amazed – it’s like “Celine Dion goes to China!”. Everyone in the room is transfixed – they love her! And you can tell that Michelle is loving it too. That girl has spent some years in the church choir, I just know it. As she finishes her song, everyone gives her the standing O. Then the microphone is thrust into my lap, with expectant eyes upon me. Despite a feeling of deep dread in the pit of my stomach, I know it’s no use to argue. It would just prolong the agony.

I go over to the song selection TV screen, hoping fervently that there will be some song on there that I won’t completely do injustice to. Like a classic Janis Joplin, for example, is that too much to ask? But as I scroll through I become less hopeful. Justin Timberlake….Britney Spears….Backstreet Boys…..I pause briefly at “Like a Virgin” by Madonna, but then move on. I kind of know the words, but…..probably not a good first impression.

Finally I arrive at “Country Roads” by John Denver. It’s probably the best I’m gonna get, so I press the button, go back to my seat, and wait for the words to appear on the big TV screen. I’ve never done karaoke before, I am an awful singer, I don’t know all the words --and plus I am kind of shy. So the whole 4 minutes it takes me to sing the song is about the longest 4 minutes of my life. And awful -- not just for me. Needless to say, I am not asked to sing another song the rest of the night.

Mr. Wong takes over the mike, and I sit back and let the humiliation drain from my face. As it drains, I give myself a pep-talk. This isn’t so bad. As anyone who knows me will agree, this isn’t the first time I’ve made a fool of myself. As I perk up, and start to regain my Shangri-la feeling, the introductions start, accompanied of course with toasts (thankfully just shot-glasses of weak beer and not vodka). Besides me and Michelle, in our little party is just Mr. Wong, Dr. Yang, a Mr. Yi, who is a very important and powerful government official, and Mr. Wu, a specialist on alpine plants who works for the forest bureau.

As I receive and return the toasts, I become more aware of my surroundings, I notice three women who I haven’t been introduced to, and who seem to be paired up with Mr. Wong, Dr. Yan, and My Yi.. “It must be their wives”, I think, “although it is odd that I wasn’t introduced to them.” Then I notice that these ladies are quite young-looking. And they are wearing mini-skirts and fishnet stockings. “How strange”, I think, “that is not typical clothing for important men’s wives”.

I lean over to Michelle and say in a low voice, “why aren’t they introducing us to their wives?”

Michelle: “Oh. Ummmm, those aren’t their wives.”

Me: “Oh. Who are they?”

Michelle: “ummm, those are entertainers”

Me: “Entertainers? Oh, okay.”

Well, I guess I am a little bit slow, folks, because Michelle feels the need to elaborate.

Michelle: “Do you remember when we first came into the room? And there were all of those women here?

Me: “Yeah, yes, I do remember that now that you mention it.”

Michelle: “Well, that was the lineup.”

Me: Silence

Michelle: “They were choosing their girls.”

Me: “Ohhhhh” I am kind of shocked. No, wait. I am really shocked. “You mean they’re prostitutes?”

I guess I didn’t say that in a low voice, because Michelle whispers harshly “Shhhhhhhh! No! They are not prostitutes, they are entertainers.”

Me: “Well….” (I’m catching on now, and trying to get to the bottom of things) “…what kind of entertainment do they provide?”

Michelle: “Well……that depends on how much you pay.”

Me: “Oh......So they are prostitutes.”

Michelle: Silence.

So, as this all sinks in, I have to admit I start to lose my Shangri-la feeling. I’m all about adapting to the culture and all, but this is a little bit much. In all of my travels, I’ve never experienced being at a business meeting with prostitutes. I’m no prude or anything. I know that men sometimes behave badly. But they don’t usually do it around me, especially while treating me as an honored guest at a business meeting. And I am new to China, but I wasn’t born yesterday. I know that it is by and large an impoverished country, and that many women are forced to make difficult choices.

The toasts continue, as does the karaoke, with everybody (except me) taking their turns with their favorite songs. All in all, it’s not such a bad time, what with the beer and the music and nobody asking me to sing. But I just can’t shake off my extreme discomfort with the situation. I am at a business affair, with four important men who are honoring me with toasts and promises of doing business together. And then there are these hired women, who sit there in their fishnet stockings and look pretty and rub up against the men.

I try to adapt to the circumstances, but find my eyes wandering to the ladies, and I find my conscience feeling guilty, like I am a knowing accomplice in a slimy crime. And also I feel a very strong personal acknowledgement, that me and those girls at the other end of the room? Well, underneath it all, we are the same girls. But for circumstances beyond our control, such as our place of birth and the opportunities we’ve been given, we are interchangeable. I could just as well have been forced into those fishnet stockings, and they could just as well have been the honored guests. No matter how much it seemed completely right and normal to everyone else in the room, it just didn’t feel right to me.

I tried to explain all of this to Michelle, between toasts, in a low voice over the booming karaoke party surrounding us. And then I tried to just let it go and enjoy myself, for the sake of cultural sensitivity, and for the sake of Michelle trying to help me out as much as she does. But I was unsuccessful at letting it go, and finally I had to admit I was just….. Done.

Me: “Michelle, I think I’m ready to go now. I don’t really feel comfortable here.”

Michelle: “We can’t go yet, it would be very rude.”

Me: “I don’t really care about being rude. I don’t really think that my PhD is really that important to me.”

She thinks about this a few seconds, and then she says, thoughtfully, “You know, I’ve only heard about the entertainers. I know it’s very common, but I’ve never actually been in this situation before either. But Dr. Yang has been a very good friend to me over the years. He is only trying to help us by inviting us here, and it would be very rude to leave so early.”

I understand her confusion, but that doesn’t necessarily salve my conscience.

Me: “Can we go as soon as it wouldn’t be too rude?”

Michelle is no dummy, and she can tell I’m serious. “A few more songs and then we go.”

True to her word, we make a graceful, non-offensive exit after a few more songs. Our chivalrous driver friend follows us out of the KTV!, insisting that he give us a ride back to our hotel. But I think both Michelle and I needed some fresh air, and we insisted even more strongly that we would just walk back. I felt a little bit bad, because I think my blackened mood was contagious. Each of lost in our own thoughts, the walk back to the hotel was a somber and silent one.

10/26/09

Within two days after our night of KTV, Michelle had returned to Kunming, and Jamon had arrived in Shangri-la for a few days of fieldwork. Jamon is a Geography student interested in the interaction between culture and forest dynamics in the region. His working hypothesis is that the different minority cultures, namely Lisu, Naxi, and Tibetans, have responded differently to the recent policy and economic changes, and that these differences have in turn influenced patterns of deforestation and reforestation. So, our goal was to poke around in several different forests in the region to get familiar with the lay of the land.

In any kind of travel or fieldwork, I have found that in addition to the landscape itself, the company who you are with contributes greatly to the enjoyment of the experience. So far, I had lucked out with Michelle as a traveling partner. And Jamon turned out also to be an excellent companion. He is easy-going, thoughtful, quirky, and besides culture and forests, he is interested in a bazillion different things. Greek mythology, UFO’s, global politics – you name it, he knows a lot about it. So any dead time in our travels were filled with lively discussions about religion, romantic relationships, his astronaut application, the presidential campaign….we had a fun and productive few days together.

The first couple of days we explored some forests in the Shangri-la region. One day we concentrated on the region around Shika Snow Mountain, whose forests are particularly special. Shika Snow Mountain is a rocky, treeless peak that rises above the surrounding Shangri-la valley, is covered in snow six months out of the year, and is a sacred mountain to the local Tibetans. Therefore, much of the forest around Shika has never been cut. The prominent trees are fir, evergreen oak, and larix, but there is a huge diversity of trees, including rhododendron, birch, pine, spruce, poplar, etc.

Exploring forests here is mostly fun, but sometimes exasperating and painful. The exasperation comes from the maze of yak trails that are endlessly widening, then narrowing, then disappearing, then reappearing, to the point where you wonder if you are just going around in circles and becoming hopelessly lost. The pain comes from the thick, spiny, evergreen oak shrubs that you have to crawl through when the trail disappears. A few evenings we spent nursing bruises on our shins and digging thorns out of our hands and knees.

The highlight of our time together was a two day trek of the Tiger Leaping Gorge, the Chinese equivalent of our Grand Canyon. The trek of Tiger Leaping Gorge passes on a high trail through a beautiful canyon created by the mighty Yangtze River. Downstream of Tiger Leaping Gorge is the famous Three Gorges Dam, and this dam, along with proposed construction of additional dams upstream of Tiger Leaping Gorge, means that it is likely that in the upcoming years this national treasure will be changed forever. We decided to take this opportunity to hike the gorge because it is unknown how soon these irreversible changes will occur.

Beautiful forests around Shika Snow Mountain